On a vast, circular altar, a dazzling light suddenly descended from the heavens. As the brilliance gradually faded, the silhouettes of a dozen people became vaguely visible within—it was Lin Luo, his three companions, and the eight mages who were "escorting" them... Welcome to the Magic World.

"Is this really the Magic World? It feels no different from the real world." Sakuya observed her surroundings with a hint of curiosity. Seeing skyscrapers towering all around, many of them mechanized, it looked just like a modern metropolis. She couldn't help feeling a bit let down. She had imagined the Magic World to be a fantastical, magical place like Gensokyo and had actually been looking forward to it.

"Heh heh, even though it's the Magic World, daily life here is quite modernized. After all, this place isn't just about magic; technology is also a very important component," Al explained with a smile. "But speaking of which, it's been ten years since I was last here, and not much has changed."

"Indeed, even the disgusting smell hasn't changed. I suddenly feel the urge to test my skills," Evangelin sneered. She still harbored some resentment towards the Magic World. After all, back when her powers weren't mature, she had been driven out of the Magic World by the mages. If not for her immortality, she might have perished.

Although this wasn't her first time revisiting this place, every time she returned, she felt an urge to kill.

"You all have procedures to complete, right? Then we'll take a brief tour here first," Lin Luo turned around and said to the mages behind them with mock "warmth." Although they were from the Senate, they still needed to complete the entry procedures. After all, order requires rules, and the Senate, while powerful, wasn't the King. Moreover, this place, while located within the Magic World, wasn't governed by it; the Real World held sway here too.

The mages naturally dared not utter a single word of dissent. Although they appeared to be escorting Lin Luo and the three others, every individual knew the true dynamics of the situation. The mages were already grateful that Lin Luo's group agreed to come with them. Otherwise, if these four Demon King-level figures decided to leave, no one could stop them.

"I still don't quite get why we have to go through these normal procedures to enter," Evangelin said with slight dissatisfaction after the mages had walked off. Although Lin Luo had explained the general reason, in her view, since they were here to forge a Creator, there was no need to involve the Magic Kingdom at all; they could have simply forced their way in, as no one could actually stop them.

"Forcing entry isn't impossible, but it would inevitably attract some trouble. It's better to avoid unnecessary complications," Lin Luo said as they walked. "Besides, since the Senate has exposed itself, it feels unsettled not to stir things up a bit."

"You want to cause trouble for the Senate?" Evangelin was slightly taken aback.

Lin Luo smiled without answering, then turned to Al. "What do you think?"

Al frowned. "Moving against the Senate is a huge undertaking, one that could cause the entire Magic World structure to shift. Even we, the Crimson Wings, didn't act on it a dozen years ago. However..." Here, he started laughing again, "...if you truly have that intention, I'm quite interested too."

"According to what you've said, the Senate is the highest political body in this world. The one we need to deal with is the Creator, and they have nothing to do with it. Surely, there's no need to touch them, right?" Sakuya showed a perplexed look.

"Don't worry, don't worry," Al chuckled faintly. "The Magic World has tens of millions of people. If we made enemies of the entire world, even the four of us would struggle. But the Senate is just a bunch of old fossils who look tough on the outside. With some internal cooperation from certain parties, it won't take much time at all."

"Hmph, you old fossil, and you have the nerve to call others old guys?" Evangelin pursed her lips.

"That's quite harsh, Katie," Al let out a wry smile, then looked at Lin Luo with an expression of pity. "You really aren't lucky; things might get rough for you in the future."

Lin Luo knew exactly what Al meant, but since the Mistress was present, he couldn't be bothered. Evangelin felt the same; she knew that arguing with Al would only result in her losing out, so she wisely kept quiet... Anyway, she could always beat him up for fun after the Creator incident was resolved.

"So, back to the previous topic, even if dealing with the Senate isn't difficult, how do we actually go about it? Wouldn't direct assault cause a lot of trouble?" Sakuya asked again.

Al shook his head. "There's no need to worry about that either. Although the Senate controls most of the power in the Magic World, we have quite a few friends. And that little one is quite close to the Senate, hehe, he's really trying hard."

Sakuya didn't know who this 'little one' Al was referring to, but Lin Luo and Evangelin had some inkling. Of course, there was no need to elaborate; it would be a matter of minutes to deal with the Senate when the time was right.

"But I just realized you’re actually a good person too," Al suddenly said to Lin Luo.

"Hey, hey, why are you giving me the 'friend zone' card? Don't go collecting my life essence!" Lin Luo felt extremely frustrated and a chill ran down his spine. He took three steps back, putting more distance between himself and Al.

Al didn't mind and laughed, "Aren't you? When we went to Wales, you even went out of your way to free those people from petrification. Now you plan to deal with the biggest hidden danger in the Magic World, the Senate—something even we, the Crimson Wings, never managed to do."

"Hmph, this guy is just bored," Evangelin snorted dismissively.

"Well, I'm just doing what's within my capability. As for dealing with the Senate, while it might be a bit of unnecessary meddling, I also have an idea of gaining some time and influence," Lin Luo stated calmly.

The petrification Al mentioned freeing was the residents of Negi's village, which had been invaded by forces sent by the Senate six years prior. At that time, over two hundred people were turned to stone by a demon summoned by the invaders. Because demonic magic is notoriously difficult to dispel, they remained unchanged, like fossils, until now.

Initially, Lin Luo had no intention of freeing them from the petrification. It was only when he arrived in Wales that he suddenly remembered—after all, Wales had a magic school, and Negi was the top student there. Moreover, in order to enter the Magic World, one needed to have made contact with that school.

Thus, during that period, he met with Negi's sister, Nyanko-sensei, and explained that he could help her resolve the petrification spell.

Negi and Nyanko-sensei communicated frequently, and Nyanko-sensei knew that Lin Luo was Negi's master. So, despite not fully believing Lin Luo could undo the magic, she decided to let him try, just in case.

The result was, predictably, not in doubt. Lin Luo's interference magic was the bane of any status magic in this era. Combined with his Sacred Healing spell, dispelling the petrification of over two hundred people took less than a minute.

There's no need to mention their gratitude. Over two hundred people immediately knelt and bowed to him. Nyanko-sensei almost said something like, "Your kindness is immeasurable; I have nothing to offer but myself."

But for Lin Luo, this was merely lifting a finger. He had already stolen Negi's master, his familiar, and possibly his heroic reputation. He considered this act fair compensation for Negi; it required no effort on his part.

As for the Senate, while he already disliked them and wanted to put them in their place, the bigger reason was that Lin Luo wanted to spend more time in the Magic World before confronting the Creator, in order to analyze the Rule Force. Fifty percent of creation rules weren't quite enough for him to complete that trump card.

As they spoke, the group arrived at an observation deck. In the center stood a massive statue: a female mage holding a staff and a man holding a sword. That female mage was the first-generation princess of the Magic World, and the Creator's daughter, Amadile, who could also be considered Asuna's ancestor.

Looking at the statue, Lin Luo suddenly had an idea. Since Amadile was the Creator's daughter, and this world was created by the Creator, with all magic originating from him, would taking this statue help him analyze the world's rules faster?

Thinking this, Lin Luo felt his idea was rather whimsical. If it were Amadile herself, it might be useful, but the statue was just a pile of stone, having no connection to Amadile, and she was already dead. Unless... Ah!

Lin Luo suddenly slapped his forehead, his face etched with regret. Amadile was indeed dead, but her bloodline hadn't been severed! Wasn't there still Asuna? Why hadn't he thought of that earlier? If he could analyze Asuna, perhaps he could unlock some of the Rule Force.

"What's wrong?" The three others felt a strange sensation looking at Lin Luo's regretful expression. Following his gaze, they saw the face of the female statue. Evangelin suddenly mocked, "Don't tell me you've developed a crush on the Creator's daughter's statue."

Lin Luo was speechless. Was he really that base?

"Nothing, just remembering a few things and feeling a bit regretful," Lin Luo turned his head away, forcing a smile. What was done was done; regret was useless now, and Asuna wasn't here anyway.

Besides, how would one analyze a person? Surely not like that...

That kind of thing... Alright, although it might be quite pleasant, doing it to Asuna was out of the question. The person she secretly liked was Ryudo, and the person she intended to marry was Negi—she was practically his junior apprentice in terms of generation. Analyzing her in that manner would be truly awful.

More importantly, the Creator's bloodline might not even be useful. But...

If it wasn't the bloodline, then what about the magic itself?

Suddenly, an even stranger notion popped into Lin Luo's mind.